Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

This book is marvelously original. For starters: the subject material. The subject material is interesting to say the least as well as squeamish, gross, weird, detailed, well researched, repulsively descriptive. In summary something that a normal person would not find themselves reading in their freetime. Imagine my utter surprise when I found myself completely enthralled in this book. I woke up deep in a world of cadavers and dead people and actually learned something as well as had a good time doing it. The exceptional reading experience stems from the tone and voice of the author, Mary Roach. Roach uses interjections with random stories, funny experiences, jokes and her personal running commentary to engage the reader. This alone made this book great to me, but another good aspect of the book is the wide variety of fields it covers. Even though some chapters I had no initial curiosity about, others piked my interest. Such as the chapters on crash dummies, promession as well as the history of taxonomy. And lastly, Roach does manage to find a conclusion among the diverse and divergent tangents, topics and fields that make up the book. But be warned, this is not a book for those who can’t stand blood and guts, although if you managed to get through the book ‘All quiet on the western front’ by Erich Maria Remarque then you will be fine. In short, I highly recommend this funny and engaging book to all those who think they can handle it.

I defy anyone to dislike a book whose first sentence is "The way I see it, being dead is not terribly far off from being on a cruise ship." Mary Roach's grand tour of the afterlives of corpses makes for compelling--and very often hilarious--reading. The book opens with the first of many colorful scenes, a roomful of plastic surgeons practicing their grotesque (at the best of times) trade on a bunch of severed heads. "The heads have been put in roasting pans--which are of the disposable aluminum variety--for the same reason chickens are put in roasting pans: to catch the drippings." As this passage illustrates, the author keeps the tone of her book light. She is a clever writer, and she makes the sorts of observations of her grim material that the Mystery Science Theater bots might make. But however light her touch, Roach is describing some truly horrific things. There is, for example, the body farm at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where bodies go to rot for science, their skin sloughing off and their genitalia bloating in full view of researchers and their guests--who leave with their footwear uncleanably soiled with the "liquids of human decay." There is the graduate student who composted a ne'er-do-well to see how efficacious a means of disposal mulch-making might be for third-world countries. ("And because the man was buried whole, Evans had to go out with a shovel and rake to aerate him three or four times.") And there is Roach's attempt--failed--to verify the details of a 1991 Reuter's article which claimed that "a man who worked in a crematorium in Hainan Province was caught hacking the buttocks and thighs off cadavers prior to incineration and bringing the meat to his brother, who ran the nearby White Temple Restaurant." Roach hired an interpreter to facilitate her discussion with the director of the crematorium she believed had employed the buttock-hacker. But how to explain to the interpreter what she needed to know? "In the cab, I tried to think of a way to explain to Sandy what I was about to have her do. I need you to ask this man whether he had an employee who cut the butt cheeks off cadavers to serve in his brother's restaurant. No matter how I thought of phrasing it, it sounded ghastly and absurd. Why would I need to know this? What kind of book was I writing?" For those with a strongish stomach, Mary Roach's book is, really, a delightful read. And eye-opening. And unlike most books, it may have the quite real effect of influencing your after-lifestyle choices.

Mary is witty, irrevernt and very informative. You will love all of her books, and don't skip over her footnotes! This a trip into a world many of us have never once thought about and all of us should. Dealt with in a caring and humorous way, Mary will answer all of the questions about death you never knew you had.

Having read Mary Roach’s newest book, Grunt, in which she talks about the science of keeping soldiers alive, I decided to read her first one, Stiff, for two reasons. One was to see how much she’d changed as an author, but two – and the bigger reason – was a fascination with the subject. Stiff‘s subtitle is The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, and the book is about exactly that: what happens to our remains after we die? Like she did with Grunt (and, I’m presuming, all of her books), Roach divides the book into independent chapters, each focusing on different aspects. There’s the bodies that end up in mortuary schools, as well as those that end up dissected by medical students. There are cadavers used as crash testers, those that end up at the Body Farm (where decay is studied, among other things), those that are used to help understand airplane crashes…and those that were used to understand what happened to Jesus and others who were crucified. And there’s much more to be found here, including bodies as compost, as art, and more. It’s a fascinating subject, and one that put Roach on the map – and having read the book, it’s not hard to see why. Done wrongly, the book could seem insensitive, ghoulish, or just depressing. But Roach celebrates these cadavers, reminding the reader just how much has been gained from this research and just how important these bodies have been to not only medicine, but to our society as a whole. At the same time, she never shies away from the discomfort people feel; indeed, one of the most compelling threads in each chapter is discussing with the various people she meets how they manage to maintain a proper emotional balance when they’re working with the dead all the time. Roach is more of a presence in Stiff than she is in Grunt; it feels like more of a first book, and something she might grow away from as she went. But that also feels like a key part of why the book works; after all, death is a fundamentally personal event, and there’s little way to read Stiff and not spend time thinking about what you would want done with your own remains, be it cremation, burial, donation, or more. And Roach builds her own debate into the book, concluding the book with a chapter that finds her pondering what to do with her own remains, having done all these studies and researches into our possible fates. But lest that sound too heavy, Stiff is every bit as engaging and fun as you would hope from Roach’s reputation. Her digressive footnotes and odd asides are still evident, her willingness to ask questions no less charming, and her ability to bring a light tone to even heavy subject matters no less welcome. More than that, she finds depth and thoughtfulness to discuss beyond what you would expect, to the point where you get the impression that she could write a whole second book about bodies and never run out of things to say. That she does all this while being incredibly informative, demonstrating a gift for conveying complex things quickly, and managing to even tell stories, is just testament to her skills as a writer, and the deservedness of her reputation.

I enjoy her humor and definitely learned some things. i do not regret reading it, but I wouldn’t recommend it to a friend. The whole section on transplant wasn’t really part of a book about cadavers, and I will not get one of the images here erased from my mind, as much as I wish I could.

Who would have thought that death could be so entertaining? Roach certainly knew. Her style and voice and extensive research demonstrates a clear understanding of her subject and the humorous curiosity needed to bring her readers from the cadaver tables to the automobile safety test sites. Death and what can happen to your body after you die are nothing to fear.

In Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, Mary Roach manages to entertain while educating. Roach writes about various perturbing experiments but still manages to add some kind of comical relief into the text of a science book. For example, she explains things from how heads of the cadavers are used by plastic surgeons as a practice instrument in Chapter 1 to how far we have evolved in our ways of cremation in Chapter 11. Roach’s objective of the book is clear and cemented in the title, to educate the reader with the development of the use of the human cadaver in the world. Roach manages to get across the message of the various ways cadavers have been used over the last couple of centuries. Roach depicts the way the guillotine came into use and how it furthered the ideology of the human brain's functionality after being removed from the body. This book is a text to be read only by those who don't take things lightly or do not get repulsed by detailed dissections of animals that we might have as our pets. Various chapters give examples of how an array of animals were used for research in the functionality of the brain, head transfusions, and to test firearms. As someone who is not in a scientific field or close to it, I am sufficiently satisfied with what I have learned through Roach’s research. Overall I would definitely recommend this book to people. Whether you are a science major or someone who just wants to learn new things. I would also, oddly, recommend this book to history majors or history lovers. It will teach you so much about the things that cannot be found in history books. But once again, do not read the book if you dislike the hearing in detail the dissection and use of animals and their organs, or the way all the parts of the human corpse had been used throughout history to prove theories.

So very interesting and fun to read. Even though the subject matter may be serious -- to some, Mary Roach approaches it not only with unabashed curiosity and drive to get at the truth, she peppers it with humor. I caught myself laughing out loud in some parts. I enjoyed this book as much as I enjoyed her Gulp, and I will keep both for future reading, and, being more true to myself, note-taking. This first reading was far too engrossing for me to even think about taking notes. Even though my first degree is in nursing and I am now a retired holistic practitioner, I did not know about all the various practices done to a corpse in the medical arena nor in the mortuary field. I didn't know about digesters although one was in an episode of Blacklist that had my terror-meter explode. Prior to reading this book, I considered either medical donation of my body and/or cremation. Now I'm reconsidering what I'd like done to my body. When I voiced it to my husband one evening, he gave me "that look," and I knew not only the timing was wrong, but that I had not given full consideration to my request. In other words, I had not yet finished Mary's book. In the last chapter, she addresses that whatever we request to be done with our bodies, we have to give consideration to those who have to go on without us. This brought to awareness my husband's continued response when I have asked him what he wants done. He has told me that it doesn't matter to him. Whereas that would leave me with an internal eyeroll and feeling of loss as to what he really wants done, it now made total sense. If he dies before me, I will make the decision that makes me feel best at the time. And I trust he will do the same if I should die before him. However, I'd really like him to read this book.

Ein sehr schönes Buch über die verschiedenen Möglichkeiten was nach dem Tod mit einer Leiche geschieht. Zum Beispiel als Crashtest-Dummies, für Schönheits-OP-Übungen, etc. Ich dachte es würde mehr um die Prozesse im Körper nach dem Tod gehen (Verwesung etc.), aber da hatte ich mich nicht genug informiert. Statt dessen habe ich dennoch viel gelernt darüber, wofür Leichen genutzt werden und kann dieses tolle und auch leicht humoristische Buch nur weiter empfehlen!

As I said in the headline, some people might consider it morbid - it's all about cadavers...(dead bodies) !!! This is the 2nd time I've bought the book, because I lost it about 10 years ago, but anyway, I personally "did not" find it morbid at all. I found it just very factual, scientific and mostly fascinating and that's why I'm buying it again. I'm really not even an avid reader, but I enjoyed the book that much. Anyhow, its "different strokes for different folks", but I thought the book was highly interesting and I would definitely reccommend it, but that's up to you. I offered it to a few friends to read and they found it too morbid, but I think if they had been just a bit more open minded and gave it a little bit of a chance, they would have really enjoyed the book, but "buyer beware"(You might find it morbid)... it's your choice - Good Luck.

A wonderful book, with lots of helpful and humorous information about the human body and what we can all look forward as we age and die! I'm a big fan of Mary Roach's writing style and approach

Good condition. Thank you!

Things I took away from this book: (1) It's fascinating and often (more often than not in fact) quite funny, but it's also divisive, there'll be many readers who will have opposing views on the material it contains; no bad thing because it should open conversations and discussions about subjects that are little talked about. (2) I want to leave my body to science if possible (and if required). (3) I want as ecological an ending to my remains as possible if (2) isn't possible. (4) Mary Roach must have had an absolute ball researching it, travelling to exotic (and not so exotic) places around the world and chatting with some wonderful characters from various fields of medical, scientific, military, and other careers related to the topic. This brilliant book should be required reading on the curriculum at all high schools, colleges and universities to alleviate the discomfort many people have around discussing the end of life. There should be TV documentary series made from it and educational DVDs released about it, it's that good, it dispels a lot of myths around many practices from the past and explains the laws and restraints that govern the use of the dead in modern times. On top of all of that, it exposes the reader to cultural anomalies with regard to life and death, from Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the USA. It isn't exhaustive but it is in depth, it's extremely well written and brings some levity to an otherwise 'grave' topic.